This past Friday did not go as planned... as most Fridays and Saturdays do not go as planned... but I had a lot to do on Friday... and it's was not getting done... I was been uncharacteristically late to everything and every where and I loathed myself for it... but as I left the first place that I was late for, the people I left behind were grinning ear to ear because of my son Hero and begging us to come again.
Then we were late to getting to Publix... and Hero wanted that big stupid cart with the race car attached to it. And I slid through the store pushing it around. As I stood comparing the sugar count on the Snapples, Hero asked me what a product was. "It's a doo-a-mah-hitchi to help someone open their Coke bottle." I sensed the person behind me was picking up on our conversation... my flight or fight instinct urged me to fly... but someOne kept me there. He turned to my son and said, "see you've got your momma there to open sodas for ya... even my momma used to ask me to open her Cokes for her." He stepped a little too close for my comfort zone and his shirt was awfully dirty. He wore a shirt that alarmed me to his extreme-right political views and the stains told me that the shirt had not been washed in a while. "I sure do miss my momma... she used to aggravate me about every little thing.... Boy, I wish that she was still around to aggravate me..." My heart hurt for him, "I know that must be hard for you..." I didn't know what else to say. He turned back to muttering at the bread. "Have a good day," I called as we walked away.
If I were a better Christian, I would have stopped and prayed with him... but I'm not and I didn't.. and I'm left wondering about the Man in the Bread Aisle. But what I realized was that maybe God put me in that spot at that moment so that man could get a smile from Hero. But what really came through was the reminder that God loves that man, muttering to the bread and all... This was a realization that came to me while I was pondering/praying/whining about how these two women that I know could walk so closely with the Lord... what was their secret? I mean, when they touched me, I could feel sparks fly from their fingertips and this peace blanket envelope me with their hugs... and as I prayed/whined about how God had put me in the most unlovely and unlovable situation, He gently reminded me that He loved the most unlovable and that was the secret to these women's awesomeness... So my confession would be that it's easy for me to love those kids and adults that are considered to be delayed or have special needs... the Lord put a call on my life to serve them. But it's hard for me to love those "normal" people who want to show me up or act better than me or treat me bad or expect me to be what I'm not (I was recently called "preacher's wife"... huh?)... I've encountered so many "mean girls" lately... my introvert wants me to retreat.
So it wasn't a coincidence that my pastor spoke on 1 Corinthians 13 for the third week in a row, nor was it a coincidence that he said, "The story of the Prodigal Son should be renamed the story of the Loving Father." He spent time describing the father's love for his foolish son and how God the Father loves us like that. And driving home today, while I was silently praying that the person driving stupid behind me wouldn't ram me from behind because she was an angry redneck, the Lord gently reminded me that He loved her and that we love because He first loved us... that I don't have to conjure the love for these people who try to constantly beat me down... that it's already there because He first loved me...
May we be more apt to love those around us that we deem "unlovable"... May we recognize that because He loved us first, we are able to love other people around us... even the unlovable...
